BRAINS
by Skipper McSlade
Summary: Kowalski is contemplating his future as a young chick in Antarctica. Not being able to remember things as readily as other chicks makes him feel worthless. On top of that, he feels not up to the physical standard of his brothers. However when push comes to shove, can Kowalski rely on his inner instincts to help pull him through? Rated T for injuries.
1. Learning Problems

**Hey readers, thanks for clicking/tapping on my latest project! It's been in progress for a couple of months now so I hope all my hard work pays off XD. This is set in an AU world, so please do not be mad that I toss in a couple of OCs. Without further ado, the first chapter of BRAINS!**

Antarctica is one jumbo-sized snow cone. Ice and snow slabs pave the rugged landscape like one gigantic, thick coat; dazzling yet overwhelming in a sense. Danger abounds in that wasteland. Even in the midst of extreme temperatures, there is life; untamed and ferocious life. From prowling polar bears to seals that torpedo under water to speeds up to 24 miles per hour, there is one type of specie that stands out from the rest. The penguins. These aquatic birds stick together through thick and thin, good times and bad. There is much to learn from these cute and cuddly bundles of joy.

A tall penguin chick was leaning back on a mound of snow as he thought about his future. He sighed as he lifted up his small flipper to catch a falling snowflake, which almost instantly melted on his flipper. Sighing again, he slowly curled the end of his flipper. Placing both his flippers on the 'snow log' he and his two brothers had built, he hoisted himself up onto the hard-packed snow. He gazed down at the log and started to doodle on it with the point of his flipper. Glancing back at the family igloo, he decided to try and replicate it, but before he could start, two black flippers gently pulled him backwards onto the log.

"Where's my black and white bowling-pin shaped penguin chick?" asked the owner of the flippers, a beautiful black and white female penguin, as her baby-blue eye bore into her son's sapphire ones.

"Hi mum." Answered the chick with a small cute smile.

"What are we doing, Kowalski? Pondering the future again are we?" she asked taking a seat next to him and delicately tracing the bridge of his beak with her flipper. Kowalski was silent, confirming his mother was correct. "How did you go at little flipper training today?" She questioned referring to a school-like programme teaching all penguin chicks between the ages of five and ten. They were taught a variety of skills that included flipper-and-eye coordination, snow art, and basic evasive manoeuvres that were especially handy in escaping their predators. Not to mention the two most important penguin career subjects, one being a mixture of science and maths and the other being physical training.

"Okay…I guess."

"But that's not what Skipper said." She answered in a matter-of-fact tone. Kowalski's eyes widened as he sat straight up in a flash. "Oh Kowalski-"

"Mum! I just can't remember a thing! It's in by the one earhole out by the other! I can't-can't do it. I'm not smart like other chicks that want to be penguin scientist and I'm not up to Skipper and Rico's standard of ph-physical fitness and strength, qualities needed to become penguin commandos. I look like a nerd! I just don't the smarts to back me up." Kowalski said as he dissolved into tears. The penguin chick scooted closer to his mother and buried his head into her feathers, tears started to wet her feathers.

"Kowalski," Kowalski turn to see her face, "you may not believe me but I was on the same ice floe you are when I was a girl. I was never the smartest or the strongest, no that-that was your father." She said with chuckle. "And now I am one of the leading penguin scientist in Penguin Labs. I was hard work, but I got there in the end." Kowalski watched his mum with wide eyes and an open beak.

"How-what is your secret?" He asked sitting up, full attention on her next words. She smiled as his eagerness.

"I learnt that-"

"SNOWBALL FIGHT! Yelled a shorter, flat-headed penguin chick with bright, sapphire blue eyes as he threw a snowball, aimed at Kowalski.

"Aaaahhh" was the yell from Kowalski when his back was hit with such force that he fell head first into the soft snow. "Owww….SKKIPER! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY!" he yelled as his little flippers went into overdrive to make snowballs as fast as possible for the inevitable war, under the protection of the snow log. "Oh hey dad!" he called to the tall, muscular, male penguin waddling over to his mum. The male penguin grinned as his sapphire blue eyes sparkled.

"Honey, shall we leave the kids to play while we go prepare dinner?" He asked with a charming smile as he held her flipper.

"I think we shall, dear." She said with a musical laugh as they waddled to the igloo. "Have fun you three, don't hurt each other." She warned.

"Yes Mum." Replied Skipper and Kowalski together. After their parent had gone into, Kowalski stood up from behind his protection to glance around in confusion to where his other brother could be.

"Hey Walski" Said Skipper. Kowalski gazed into Skipper's mischievous eyes as he rubbed the base of his neck sheepishly, a habit he had learned from his intelligent mother. Skipper broke his stare to look at a moving figure behind him. Kowalski turned around to see Rico slid down full speed towards him. Kowalski gave a high-pitched scream as he was bowled over and dragged in the snow toward a waiting Skipper.

"All r'ght!" exclaimed Rico as he threw his flippers in the air. Kowalski flashed a glare at both of them as he dusted the snow off his feathers in a very stiff and rough manner.

"Squealing like a girl, Kowalski, tsk tsk tsk I thought higher of you." Teased Skipper as he high-one-ed Rico with resounding smack.

"Hah…that was so funny I forgot to laugh." Was the sarcastic reply. Skipper grinned as he picked up a flipper-full of snow as shaped it into a ball.

"Yeah but you such remembered to squeal." Skipper said as Rico tried to supress a snicker. Kowalski couldn't help but grinned at the pair. Pretty soon they were engaged in a full-out snowball war with imaginary foes.

"Skipper! To your right!" yelled Kowalski in the midst of throwing a snowball. Skipper scooped up a flipper-full of snow, shaped, and threw it as quick as lightening to his right.

"Duck Walski" Rico shouted as he hurled the snowball at Kowalski. Instead of ducking immediately, Kowalski turned to Rico.

For the three penguins, time came to a complete halt. Looks of panic and worry flashed over the faces of Skipper and Rico as Kowalski's face was etched with complete fear. Gritting visibly his beak, Kowalski started to lean backwards. Instead of doing a backhand spring like he originally planned, he fell on his back with a thud, forcing out the air of his lungs. Trying to block out the pangs of pain running through his back with no avail, Kowalski gasped for breath.

"You alright, Walski?" Skipper asked as he rubbed Kowalski's back after he had hauled him up from the snow. The lanky penguin chick gave a small uncertain nod. Rico wrapped a strong flipper around Kowalski's waist, aiding him to stand up straight.

"Can we go-go in?" Kowalski questioned, still in shock and pain. Skipper nodded as they started to walk to the igloo.

As they entered, Kowalski immediately went to the small, clear, ice table. As he sat down he gave a heavy sigh, today was not his day. Skipper and Rico followed his example.

Their parents soon exited the kitchen area, each carrying an icy plater of fresh cod. Sitting down they started to eat their meal, Skipper and Rico explained what happened outside to Kowalski. If a penguin could blush, Kowalski would be as red as a tomato.

"Is your snowballs that hard, Rico?" their dad quipped with a large grin. Rico nodded his head vigorously. Everyone else at the table laughed merrily.

"He once smashed an adult leopard seal with one." Skipper said as he proudly looked at his younger brother. Everyone at the table froze. Kowalski and Rico stared with wide eyes and their parents glanced worriedly at each other. Skipper lowered his head, knowing he was guilty of slipping up.

"Boys," Their dad said slowly, "Is there something your not telling us? Like you went to the Ice Caves in the peak of leopard seal season without an adult penguin?" Their dad was smart, and knew he didn't need to beat around the bush to get an answer.

"Well Wally is technically an adult." Kowalski stated looking at his father hopefully.

"Wally's insane therefore he does not count." Their dad said bluntly. "Tell me what happened. The truth and nothing but the truth."

"Sure dad…uhhh Kowalski thanks for volunteering to tell dad what happened." Skipper said as he tried to escape confrontation.

"No you will, Skipper." Said his mother firmly as her baby blue eyes sparkled with an unreadable emotion.

"Uhh…. o-okay m-mum." Stuttered Skipper as he stared at his flippers that he was slowly twiddling.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _Ice, ice, ice, ice, snow, ice, ice, water, ice." Muttered Kowalski as he struggled to keep up with us._

" _Would you not?!" I yelled while glaring at him. I immediately felt guilty for yelling at him. Those pitiful eyes were almost too much to bear, so I turned away and kept waddling to the hill of ice jutting out from some hidden heart in the middle of this already-rugged terrain. Cold and heartless, I know._

" _Sk-Skipper do-do you really think this is-is a good idea?" Kowalski whispered while he shivered. Rico rolled his eyes. Rico knew just as much as me that Kowalski was probably not the most nature-loving penguin out there._

" _Ba-by." Teased Rico as he dropped to his stomach and started to slide towards the forbidden Ice Caves._

" _Come on 'Walski we're burning daylight here!" I said grabbing his flipper. Naturally, he protested of being dragged along. By now, Rico was almost at the Ice Caves._

" _We're not going to the Ice Caves are we?" my taller brother questioned. I turned around with a dangerous glint in my eye and large grin pasted on my face. "Oh no…leaving the security of home to venture into Leopard Seal territory? Ugh yeah….oh what do you know I left the oven on! I better go turn it off before it burns the house down…so uhh I'll just get going…bye." I smirked at my brother; there was no way he could escape with a lazy getaway like that._

" _Kowalski…Penguins don't use ovens and we don't have a house, it's a igloo. Also there is no way that it can burn down, it can only melt."_

" _Bb-bbut but without any adults? That's blatantly disobeying mum and dad's orders!" he yelled, fear changing to anger. I shrugged; I mean what's life without a little danger?_

" _Fine." I groaned, "I asked Wally to meet us here. He's an adult." Kowalski was not fully convinced._

" _He's crazy." He said as he folded his flippers._

" _Hey! Just because you can't remember thing we don't call you brain-dead." I proclaimed Wally's defence._

" _Okay as long as we're okay, I won't spill. I just want you to know I hate this idea." Kowalski said as he unfolded his flippers and started to slide towards Rico. I sighed heavily as he sped along the snow, phew that was close. Okay, I'll admit that I was seriously starting to have doubt about asking Wally along. After all, the rumours were that he was completely and utterly mental. Yet on the other flipper, I've heard rumours that pigs could fly. I still have to cross seeing them off my bucket-list. I shook my head clear of my thoughts and started to slide along the cold snow. Bringing my sliding to a halt, I saw my brothers and another lanky penguin._

" _Yo, yo, yo! I had a pet iceberg that could move faster that you, Skipper." Said the lanky penguin as his almost-unnatural green eyes focused on me. To me, he looked sane enough. Hmm, maybe this guy wasn't so crazy after all. "He was the cutest little thing, but then he melted. Rest in Puddles, Summer." He said as his eyes started to harbour tears. Nope, he blew it. He was definitely insane; the rumours weren't over-exaggerated. I only wish that I had listened._

" _Right can we get this over and done with? I really need to turn off that oven." Said Kowalski looking at me with an expression that clearly said 'Told you so!'_

" _Right!" I said clapping my flippers together. "Let's get inside the forbidden Ice Caves!"_

" _Oooo Spo'ky." Rico said snorting as he dove inside through a tunnel. Soon enough we all were inside the Ice Caves._

" _This place is amazing." Kowalski exclaimed, gesturing to the sharp, icy crystals hanging from the cave's dome. Wally grinned at him, his green eyes sparkling with excitement. A nice lively change from the cold, bluish walls._

" _Stalactites. Ice stalactites." Wally stated with a crazy grin. I returned my own signature smirk to the group who I was technically responsible for if anything went wrong. The others continued wandering in the cave as I glanced to the largest entrance. Something was not right; I could feel it in my gut. I knew something bad was going to happen. Maybe we shouldn't have wandered to far from the tunnel entrance/exit._

 _Luckily, I can honestly say that my gut has never disappointed me. I gaped at the seal that made himself home in the main area of the Ice Caves. It lifted its head from the white floor to sniff the air._

" _Sk-Skipper." Kowalski whispered wrapping his flippers around his shivering body, he had obviously seen me gaping. His orbs were filled with fear and I knew my eyes were reflecting with the same emotion. Wally and Rico were staring at the leopard seal with wide eyes; curiosity also had gotten the better of them._

" _Penguinsss." Hissed the leopard seal as he shifted his position. A shiver ran up my spine as he spoke. The seal slowly started to move towards us._

" _Rico," I whispered to him. "Snowball defence?" He nodded and we both started to shape the balls. After I finished my snowballs in twenty seconds flat, I glanced at Rico who was finishing his last snowball, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and a determined look in his eyes. "Alright…here's the plan. Wally, Kowalski, its simple get outta here. Rico and me will hold him off by lobbing snowballs at him. Okay? NOW!" I yelled as I started to throw a snowball. Rico soon followed my lead._

 _Wally and Kowalski were hesitant of leaving us to fight the beast. "DON'T PLAY THE HERO! GET OUT OF HERE!" I bellowed. Fortunately, they snapped out of their trance and started to slide out of the cave, via the tunnel. I flung my last snowball without aim as I shot a glance at Rico who was on his last one too._

 _Rico curled the snowball in his flipper and cocked it. With a speed and fury that I am sure amazed both of us, the snowball flew out of his flipper and hit the seal right on the nose. Upon impact, the snowball disintegrated into a powder. Unfortunately for the seal, the powder invaded its nose and eyes. While it was struggling to shake the snow off, we dashed for it. Pretty soon all four of us were back on penguin territory, after sliding as fast as a team of bobsledders._

" _If you kids every plan on doing that again, please invite me along again." Wally said as he slid off to an igloo in the distance with a crazy look in his bright eyes._

" _Sure!" Rico yelled after him. I shook my head. There was no way that we were going to do that again soon._

" _Okay team, we'll let this adventure slide to the hills. Nothing to no one. Comprende?" I said. "Mum and Dad will melt ice with their glares if they know what happened." They both nodded, inaudibly pledging their silence._

 _ **End of Flashback**_

Skipper felt everyone's gaze heavily resting upon him. Finally he worked up the confidence to look at his father. Surprisingly, his father was not melting ice with his glare; instead he was watching him with an almost-hidden expression of amusement. Glancing to his mother, he saw a visible knowing smile appear on her face.

"Runs in the family." Their father said with a chuckle. Their mother laughed as she playfully swatted his shoulder.

"Tell them dear. Tell them." She said, and started to laugh to some hidden joke. Their dad grinned and his sapphire eyes sparkled with humour.

"Along time ago, when we were chicks, we did a similar excursion to the heart of leopard seal territory." He said, gaining a distant look in his eyes.

"The adventure to Snow Ridge? That was you?" Kowalski asked in awe, his eyes as round as saucers. "That's a scene we have to draw in a snow-art class!"

"Yes, that is where your father saved my life. He threw away his tough cover and risked his own life." Their mother said as she snuggled up to her husband. Their dad placed his flipper on her shoulder and pecked her cheek.

"Ewww..." the boys chorused as they squirmed uncomfortably as they watched the pair. Their parents started to laugh at their uncomfortableness, their eyes sparkling with enjoyment. After their moment of fun, both parents stood up.

"Okay boys, time for bed." Their mother said as she took the icy platers to the kitchen area. The boys nodded as they set off an infectious yawning cycle, soon rubbing their tired eyes.

Soon Skipper and Rico where fast asleep, leaving Kowalski to stare at the roof of the igloo in silence. After a couple of minutes, Kowalski's eyes started to droop as every thought faded from his mind. However, a soft shuffle brought him back to the land of the living. Since faking to sleep seemed the best option at the time, Kowalski naturally took it. Relaxing his body, he took deep controlled breaths.

"Stop faking your sleep." The boys' father said. As walked over and sat down next to Kowalski.

"B-but we can't cross the river without pickles." Skipper moaned in his sleep. " That's like having snow…no tanks…" he continued to mumble.

Kowalski tried to keep a straight face in the dark, but since his stomach as was aching with all the laughter he was trying to smother. Blowing his cover, he let out a snort that changed into a choke and ended in a violent coughing fit.

"I knew you weren't asleep." He said with a gentle chuckle. "Does Skipper have a habit of talking nonsense in his sleep?" Kowalski nodded, even though he knew his father couldn't see him.

"Yes, Dad. It happens a lot of the time." They both fell into a deep silence; the only noise that could be heard was Rico's occasional snore.

"So…. Do you want to tell me what happened at little flipper training today?" His dad questioned, although it came out more like an order. Kowalski cringed as he remembered the hours before. "I'll tell you what. Tomorrow, when I have to go train with the penguin commandos, I want you to come watch again. After that, you and me will go for a waddle and then you can spill the beans before grandma and grandpa comes and visits us. How does that sound?"

"Sounds awesome, Dad. Thanks for being there for me." Kowalski muttered sleepily as he closed his eyes.

"Okay son, but now it is time to catch some Z's." Kowalski nodded and drifted off to sleep. His dad chuckled as he stood up and waddled to his room to surrender to a dreamless sleep.

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know of your thoughts so far in a review. Till next time friends, have an awesome day!**


	2. A talk with Kowalski

**ANNNDD, welcome back to the second chapter of BRAINS! Before we begin, I'd like to give a massive shout out to my reviewers, namely Misty, Writer, Anonymous, Midnight the Black Fox, and Howbrighthesky. You guys made me day. Thank you! The update is running a bit behind my planned schedule, so sorry about that. ANYway, enough about me–the chapter!**

Ten muscular penguins lined up shoulder-to-shoulder about 30 meters away from the water's edge. A group of fifteen to twenty penguin chicks watched in awe as the adult penguins prepared to train. These adult penguins were known as the Fighting Flippers and they were the ultimate commando penguin group. Among the group of chicks, Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski stood out from the crowd. They were black and white, just like the others, but unlike the other penguins that watched in awe, they watched in determination.

"One day, boys." Skipper whispered to Rico and Kowalski. "One day, we will be the best commando unit in the world." He didn't sound like he was boasting; he just said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Every penguin was silent when the mow-hawked penguin on the far right stepped out of line to face the other nine penguins standing to attention.

"Alright men! I want a to see your fitness progress. Your mission; slide into the water, swim to the iceberg, climb the 'berg, dive from it, and swim back here. The last penguin that arrives here…" The lead penguin smirked as his brown eyes sparkled as he clasped his flippers behind his back. "Will have a vigorous mission as punishment. Understood?"

"Sir, Yes Sir!" the inline penguins shouted. The lead penguin called General nodded as he unclasped his flippers.

"At 'em boys!" He yelled as he pointed to the iceberg. The moment those words were out of the General's beak, the inline penguins dropped to their stomachs and slid to the water at a neck-breaking speed.

Skipper frowned as he felt a sharp, pang of frustration in his gut. A sense of impossibility loomed over him as he watched them move so fast. He shivered as he shook his head, manually trying to clear the thoughts of yesterday's trial and fail of the precise same exercise the Fighting Flippers were doing now. Gritting his beak, he grabbed one flipper of both his brothers and started to drag them away from the group.

"Hey!" they both exclaimed as they struggled to keep their balance. Taking one glance at Skipper's face, Kowalski wrenched his flipper away from Skipper's firm grip.

"Wha–"

"We have to get training." Skipper snapped.

"Why?" Kowalski demanded.

"Because we have to be prepared." Skipper shot back without thinking.

"For what?" Kowalski said a he folded his flippers. Rico rolled his eyes; honestly sometimes he was more mature than his brothers.

"Stop!" Both Skipper and Kowalski glared at Rico. "Enough!" Rico gave an icy glare, paired with a heavy frown to his brothers. Sighing in defeat, Skipper and Kowalski turned away, both enveloping themselves in their own worlds.

Kicking the snow with his foot, Skipper gazed at the commandos, who now were diving of the iceberg in the distance. ' _Why is it so hard to say, "I'm sorry." It's gnawing me on the inside for snapping at Walski, but why can't I admit it?'_ Pulling his shoulders back and stretching to his full height, Skipper opened his beak.

"Uh…Walski…" Skipper said trying to catch the penguin's attention.

Kowalski, however, was lost thought. _'Training? Really Skip? Do you really think that's gonna help my lanky body? I can't even block a punch. Sure, I can fall on my back when a snowball is hurled at me, but how that gonna help me become a commando? I'm not smart, I'm not strong…how?'_ Kowalski mentally groaned as he plonked down into the majestic, pure white snow. _'I'm not good at anything. I'm hopeless.'_

Meanwhile, Rico was glancing from Kowalski to Skipper in disbelief. He wanted to start smacking sense into them, but he was pretty sure that was not going to help, instead he just let them quietly continue in their solemn moods. Skipper finally noted that Kowalski was caught in his own little world. Waddling closer to him, Skipper tapped his brother on the shoulder. Kowalski was startled to say the least.

Kowalski had leapt like a startled cat onto Skipper and had ended up using him like a cushion, much to the amusement of Rico who snickered.

"Uh Walski…. can you…you know, get off me?" Skipper asked as he was being pinned under his lanky brother. Kowalski muttered his apologies as he rolled of his brother. Rico flopped down next to his brothers, waiting for someone to step up and say something.

"Kowalski? I-I'm sorry for…you know yelling at you. I just…want to be the best. And every time I watch dad and the team…I just get mad cause I can't do it yet. Please forgive me." Kowalski's gazed at Skipper who was staring down at the snow.

"I forgive you Skipper. I-I just hate that I can't do anything well. I'm just there; I can't fight like you two or ramble about science like some do. If I train, I just feel even more hopeless watching you work out." Kowalski said almost inaudibly.

Skipper and Rico's heads shot up in shock. "Wait what?! Are you kidding me Walski? You might not be the best fighter _yet_ but you sure can drop down backwards. All we have to do is work on those kicks and punches then we have ourselves a lanky commando penguin." Said Skipper, the pride evident in his voice.

Kowalski gave him a deadpan look. "We both know that it take a lot more than that to become a commando, even more a Flighting Flipper." He stated.

"EH...we halp." Rico said slapping Kowalski on his shoulder. Kowalski looked at them both hopefully.

"Really? You guys would really do that? Wow."

"No problems Walski. That's what brothers do. High-one!" Skipper yelled holding his flipper up.

Soon, the Fighting Flippers were finished training. After their father had received a hearty congratulation from the General and the rest of the team for his speedy improvement, the boys and their dad started for home.

"Well boys, I promised Kowalski that I would take him on a son and dad outing today, so we'd better get going. Your mum should be home by now." Their dad said as he ruffled the feathers on both Skipper and Rico's heads, almost oblivious to his surroundings. Suddenly, two flippers clouded his vision.

"I am now, Liam, or should I say A-K-A Captain?" Said a familiar feminine voice, naming the boy's dad on his military nickname. Liam smiled as he gently pried his wife's flippers from his sapphire blue eyes. Holding her flipper, he guided her around to his front.

"Surprise, surprise, surprise, Kate A-K-A love of my life." Kate playfully batted her eyes as she gave a mischievous grin. Leaning over, Kate pecked her husband on the cheek. He returned the favour and whispered in her earhole.

Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico, being completely grossed out, started to make choking noises. Rico, being even more sensitive to the whole mushy love concept, hawked up a whole fish in disgust. Liam and Kate laughed at their boys' actions.

"Okay." Kate giggled. "You'd better be off, that is if you want to be here before my parents arrive."

"Mmmm…."mused Liam. "Okay love you all. Come on Kowalski." He said as he dropped to his stomach and started to slide.

Kowalski felt his stomach turn as he recognized the path he and his brothers had taken this morning to watch their dad train. This pathway was extremely close to the "safest" and quickest Ice Caves route. Yet, waddling next to his dad made him feel a little bit safer.

"So?" Kowalski's dad drawled. "Little flipper training?"

"Well, where do you want me to start dad?" Kowalski said wishing back at home sliding about with his other brothers.

"The beginning is usually the place to start…but as General says, 'A good commando should be able to read a situation and correctly react to it in a second.' So fire away."

"Right…" Said Kowalski as he plonked himself down next to his father who was already seated in the pure white snow. "Well it started at snow art today, I was picked on for-" Kowalski gave a fake cough as his brain continually yelled, ' _Think Kowalski! Think!_ ' for a split second. "- for being friendly with a new student." Kowalski said hoping his father would fall for it.

His father was silent as critically gazed over his son. "Kowalski, never become a full-time liar. You're not good at it." He said gravely. Kowalski sighed as he stared at his flippers. "They picked on you because you could not do the obstacle course faster, right?"

"Yeah…I'm not good at them…at all."

"And?"

"Skipper and Rico _helped_." Kowalski said glancing at his father, while his expression suddenly changed to a larger-than-life smile. "I've never seen a penguin slide so fast!"

"Yes, I heard about that. Unfortunately, they are suspended from the classes for- I quote 'their unsatisfactory behaviour.' It's quite sad actually. You get bad-mouthed by an older and larger penguin, but when your brothers stand up for you; they are accused of being the trouble makers."

"Uh huh. I just wish I could be faster, stronger, and smarter." Liam watched his son in silence.

"Kowalski look at me-" the younger penguin turned his head slowly. "You _are_ fast, strong, and smart." Liam told him as his sapphire eyes bored into Kowalski's ones. "Those are skills that should be learned. Nobody's a natural; some just learn faster than others."

"You're right dad but…I just want to fit in. I want to be a Flighting Flipper like you! I want to be smart like mom. I'm just- I just don't fit in nowhere!"

"Walski, no matter how perfect you are, you won't be everyone's favourite, but don't worry, you'll be many people's hero."

"I want to be brave and courageous. I don't want to be afraid of anything."

" 'Courage is not the absence of fear, rather it is the ability to act in the presence of fear.' That's what my father taught me while we were face to face with leopard seals." Kowalski gave his father a defeated look, much to the amusement of the latter.

"You win."

"Just be yourself Kowalski. You'll never be true to yourself if you aren't acting yourself. Understand?" Liam question as he stood up and ruffled his feathers.

"Yeah, that makes sense." He said as he stood up and hugged his dad.

"Right! Let's go home. Grandma and grandpa should be there soon." Liam said enthusiastically as he hoisted the younger penguin onto his shoulder, much to the delight of Kowalski.

After arriving back at the igloo, the pair was greeted by two hyper penguins. When Kowalski had slid off of his father's shoulder, he was bombarded with questions. Thanks to two elderly penguins ambling into view, Kowalski was spared retelling the boring tale of his journey alongside his dad.

"Grandma! Grandpa! You're finally here!" the boys cheered as they rushed to the older penguins, embracing both of them in a bone-crushing hug; almost succeeding in bowling them over.

"Oomph…my poor old bones." The elderly male penguin remarked, his grey mop of feathers danced wildly on top of his head.

"Oh my boys! You have all grown so much!" exclaimed the female penguin, enveloping her three grandsons. Liam watched on in amusement as Kate waddled slowly out of the igloo towards her parents, she flashed him a cheeky grin when she caught him gazing at her.

"Hello Mum and Dad. Miss me?" Kate announced with an overdone British accent.

"Kate! Yes! We've missed you so much!"

"Haha I have too, Dad. Come on in, no use standing in the cold." Kate winked as she snatched her husband's flipper and proceeded to drag him into igloo. The grandparents laughed merrily as they waddled into the igloo, keeping their distance from the lovebirds.

Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico eyed each other quizzically. "Do we _want_ to go inside now?" Kowalski asked. Skipper and Rico glanced uncertainly at each other, neither penguin was willing to go sit and listen to the adult penguins conversing about various and more often that not, boring things.

"Nah, I think we give them a little space, you know catch up on life's well-being." Skipper replied smoothly, grinning like a cat that just ate the canary.

"Snow-ball?" Rico asked, tilting his head, his feathery mow hawk bobbing.

"Yes, why not?" Kowalski gave a goofy grin as he scooped up some snow. Little did they know what was about to happen.

 **Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think in the comment, and till next time friends–have a lovely day/night XD**


	3. An injury

**Hey and welcome back. I'm so very sorry it took so long. Last chapter, yeah I was kinda mean; I left you all on a cliff hanger, but thanks for all the reviews! I won't bother you with a long note so onto the adventure! Go ahead, read the next chapter of BRAINS!**

Breathing heavily, four penguins collapsed to the floor of the igloo in utter exhaustion, remaining energy fading fast. Skipper and Kowalski stared at each other in worry. A lonely tear started to form in the corner of Kowalski's eye. What they had just witnessed was frightening. Everything that was fun at first, seemed to go horribly wrong after a couple of minutes.

" _Rico_." Kowalski softly muttered before bursting into tears. Skipper, also feeling overwhelmed by the current situation, also got watery eyes.

"Now, now Walski," Grandpa comforted as he gave a reassuring flipper squeeze to his wife sitting tiredly on the bench. "Everything is going to be okay."

"That's right, darling. Rico will be fine." Grandma said as she gently pulled the nearest chick into her lap, which happened to be Kowalski. Grandpa also guided Skipper into his lap, allowing him to cry into his feathers.

Closing his eyes, Kowalski snuggled as deep as he could into Grandma's feathers, hoping somehow that he could forget what he had witnessed a couple of minutes ago. Rico's unconscious figure was just another painful reminder that he was not good at anything. If he was Skipper, he would have tackled Rico and sped up and used the momentum to cross the crevasse, but no, he was Kowalski. Freezing, like a deer caught in headlights, he did nothing. He was close enough to help, but not brave enough. He just stood there hoping Rico would be okay. Unfortunately, hoping was not enough this time. Kowalski shuttered as he remembered the loud impact into the crevasse's cold, hard side.

Taking his head out of the comfort of his grandmother's feathers, Kowalski shifted his position to stare accusingly at Skipper who was masking his true emotions as usual. After all, it was his idea to go sliding down the newly formed slopes.

The boys had wandered away from the colony of igloos and had picked the snow slope to toboggan down from. It was smooth and much softer that any other slope they had ever gone on. At first, they started about half way up the slope. The first slide was nice, but a bit slow to what they were use to. Rico decided he would do another, but this time he would go higher up.

Rico started full speed down the slope. Kowalski, standing at the bottom, instantly knew he was going too fast; just like Skipper who had yelled to Rico to slow down. Either Rico didn't hear or couldn't do anything. He was going to fast to stop safely and to slow to clear the crevasse. It was a decent sized crevasse going down a couple of meters, but it was as least 10 meters wide at the narrowest part.

Kowalski remembered watching in horror as Rico's body slammed headfirst into the opposite side of the rock-solid crevasse. His unconscious body kept dashing against the wall all the way to the bottom like a pebble dropping from the top of a cliff. Skipper, seeing that there was no moment to lose, immediately slid over and shook Kowalski by his shoulders; ordering him to get the adults.

Everything from there on happened so fast. Kowalski couldn't remember precisely how it happened; one minute he was urgently conversing with his parents the next minute Rico was expertly lifted from the crevasse by his parents and grandparents. What had happened to Rico from there on in was still unknown to him.

"Where are they and when will they be back?" Kowalski asked breaking the silence. Startled at the loudness of his voice, Grandpa turned sharply and gazed at him.

"Well, they went to Doc and as for how long, that's anybody's guess." Replied Grandpa, satisfied and sort of disappointed that there was no intruder. Kowalski nodded slowly.

"You two boys should go to sleep, there's nothing anyone of us can do now." Grandma said gently. Kowalski and Grandma stood up and waddle to Kowalski's bed. Dropping into a sitting position, Kowalski buried his head in his flipper. Grandma stood quietly watching the distraught penguin; deciding it was best to leave him alone, she shuffled out back into the living area.

Skipper remained sitting on Grandpa's lap. He did not even blink, just stared into the opposite wall. Soon enough, the two grandparents started to talk about Rico. They discussed possible problems and solutions, their way of dealing with the stress.

After a couple of hours had gone by, Skipper snapped out of his trance-like behaviour to see Grandma had fallen asleep in a rather uncomfortable way.

"It's my fault." He said sadly. "If I had not suggested we slide, this would never have happened." Skipper turned to face Grandpa who was partly stuck in his own dreams.

"Now Skipper," Grandpa started firmly, shaking off all thoughts of sleep. "No one knew this would happen, so stop beating yourself up over it. You couldn't change anything then nor can you now. It is not your fault. If you continue to be angry at yourself, you will be no help for us others."

"But-"

"No 'buts' about it young man! You cannot be the penguin we need you to be if you can't work with a clear mind. You cannot change the circumstances now; you can only help it. Or harm it for a matter of fact. But now we'll go to sleep, not everyone is trained like your father to go without sleep for long." Grandpa said in his best no-nonsense voice. Skipper meekly obeyed and shut his eyes; slowly drifting of into dreamland.

Later, Grandma and Skipper stood abreast observing a patch of snow. Grandma's sharply trained gaze drifted over the frozen patch, calculating the hardness of the snow. Grandpa and Kowalski were inside the igloo talking together about feeling responsible for Rico; the same conversation Skipper had had with Grandpa.

"Yes! This will work perfectly for out purpose." Grandma exclaimed as she ran an aging flipper through her head feathers as she started to lose herself in old memories. Skipper shot her confused glance. He knew she was a retired builder, strangely one of the first sane and smart ones too. Building igloos and the Penguin Labs was considered a job for the school dropouts and well the village crazy people, which kind of made you more hesitant to step into any building after reports of roof and wall collapses. Builders were sadly stereotyped into half-wits and were looked down upon by the society as the brainless group, like most of the other careers. Yet Grandma was determined to make a difference. When she had finished school, she was the best in her class. Much to the bitter disappointment of teachers and adults alike, she bypassed all the "good" subjects and career choices to do what she loved, building. She became a amateur builder.

Grandma practiced by herself how to make strong igloos and as soon as she mastered the technique, she entered the building business. Rising to the top of the business, she enforced training courses on the newer generation, teaching them what school wouldn't. Soon enough builders were not just dropouts anymore, but intelligent builder penguins. And later on, other smart penguin finishing school would also join; rebelling against the stereotype society. Grandma's stubborn attitude and passion to do things she loved was the turning point of her generation. Of course she faced many criticism, but she didn't care; she would push on. She loved building and that wasn't going to stop.

"Grandma, how is this precisely learning an important life lesson?" Skipper questioned waving his flippers around her face and drawing her from her memory train. Skipper was slightly annoyed that they had not yet heard from the other 3 and Grandma floating off to Memory Fair was not helping either. Grandma gave a sad smile to the snow as she bent over, dragging her flipper in a rough rectangular shape, happy to be back at what she loved.

"Skipper, darling." She drawled. "There's no point in getting angry. I know you're worried about Rico. He gave us all a fright. There's no need to worry."

"What are we building again?" Skipper said changing the subject, unwilling to stop worrying.

"An igloo."

"Life lesson?"

"If you are ever lost, you'll know how to make a shelter." Grandma remarked, flashing Skipper a deadpan look.

"Oh…does it work on rock too?" Skipper asked cheekily. Grandma laughed, this was more like the Skipper she knew. After various instructions from the former builder, a crude igloo stood askew. "It doesn't really look like our home." Skipper said cocking his head in a confused manner as he gazed at the family's home, which had been built by yours truly, the first generation of actual professionally trained builders.

"Of course dear, you must remember that this is your first try, and the builders that built our house has passed many building courses. It looks lovely." Said Grandma smiling lopsidedly. "Now, my poor, old, aching bones need a rest. My, oh my, how your parents keep up with you lot is a wonder to the world."

It was roughly 13 hours since the remaining 4 penguins had seen or heard about Rico, Kate and Liam. They all were starting show their jumpiness on the last couple of hours. Just when everyone was about to lose the last part of his or her sanity, an exhausted Liam turned up.

Liam sank to the bench as inquires was hurled at him. Holding up his flippers in a surrender gesture, he asked everyone to sit down.

"Rico is in a stable condition, well that's what Doc says. Somehow, Doc managed to identify that Rico damage his left hemisphere of his brain; more precisely the Frontal Lobe. Doc labelled it as dysarthria." Kowalski was the first to speak.

"Die-what?"

"Dy-sarth-ria. A motor speech disorder. It affects the muscles in the face, mouth and respiratory–breathing-systems. It's a brain injury that causes the muscles to become weak. It won't kill him, but his speech will be much more slurred and he will grunt more that actually using words." The penguins fell into a heavy silence and rest of the day passed slowly and quietly, everyone obviously shocked and scared. Neither penguin really went into a real conversation with another; they only murmured their answer when spoken to.

Liam was busy catching up on lost sleep when a handsome and muscular penguin appeared at the door of the igloo with a message from Kate. After the usual polite greetings, the penguin asked to see "Captain". When Grandma had waddled in to wake their dad, Skipper asked the penguin a question that had been bothering him.

"Excuse me, why do you call my dad 'Captain'?" A smile lined the face of the penguin as his demeanour instantly changed. Instead of continuing to be the rock-hard professional commando he was in front of Grandma, he gave a merry laugh.

"You see it has a little backstory which I will tell you about. When the Flippers started; the members would refer to any other penguin as an avian. And one time your father said aviator instead of avian."

"What's an aviator?" Kowalski asked, thinking it was time to emerge from the shadows.

"An aviator is another name for a pilot. That's why we nicknamed him the Captain. But when we nicknamed him, it also ended the calling of other birds 'an avian'." Whenever we saw another penguin on a mission, we'd say to each other 'avian in view' and burst out laughing cause Captain would perk up and ask us–"

"What up?" said Liam waddling out of the igloo with a smirk. Just as fast as the penguin had dropped his professional manner, he returned it. He was yet again the rock-hard professional commando, straightening up he saluted. Liam grinned and saluted back. "At ease soldier. You wanted to tell me something?"

"Your wife and son have finished up at the Doc's. They want you escort them back, sir." Said the penguin respectfully, dropping some, yet not all of his professional cover.

"Thanks Sarge. Oh before I go, can you look after the boys for me? Their grandparents are quite tired with their escapades. I know it's a big thing to ask but–"

"No worries Captain. Sure I'd love to teach them a couple of stunts." The Captain smiled gratefully at his teammate. Liam knew behind the tough cover of his sergeant that there was a soft spot he'd never show in front of the higher-ups; that was his love for helping young penguin chicks. The Sarge was always considered the big brothers of the boys, even though he was old enough to be their uncle. His love for justice and honour was just a great as the next penguin; but there was always something a shy chick could do to unravel years of brutal training on that penguin.

Liam said good-bye to his sons and slid off on his stomach. ' _There's always something about Sarge that everyone loves. Can never put a flipper on it, but I trust him with my life. Sometimes shocking that an innocent, friendly-looking penguin like him can actually be a die-hard commando and be good at it! Guess you never can judge a book by it's cover...'_

When Liam arrived at the igloo, he just stood outside the door and wondered how Doc who had seen the world could come back and live in such a small cramped-up home. Doc also had said that he hated the cold, that's why he left in the first place. Things just didn't add up. He'd have to ask him about that later.

Quietly shuffling into the igloo, he saw a conscious Rico propped up on clean, white snow. Next to him sat Kate with her eyes half closed, and sitting on a crystal clear, ice chair was the Doc. Wild white feathers bobbed around as the Doc turned to Liam. And for a split second, Liam thought he looked strangely similar to a mad scientist he used to know. Doc is the only medical doctor known to the entire penguin colony, he's also known to be rather...eccentric.

"Ahh…Liam, just on time! Have a seat." Doc said, using his strangely gruff, yet soft voice as he motioned to another chair.

"Hello honey, glad you came so quick. We're both almost ready to go home." Kate said allowing her British accent to shine through again as she opened eyes completely.

"That's good the others are worried about you two. Hey Rico how are you buddy?" Liam asked as he sat down on the chair. Rico grinned and waved but did not say anything.

"Rico is to rest as much as possible, and if you can, keep him from sliding into crevasses again…that would be great." Said the Doc with a grin, causing Rico to silently laugh, still unwilling to use his voice.

"Well it's about time for us to go. Thank you Doc, really appreciate it. If you need any help, you know where to find us." Said Kate standing up and waddling over to her husband.

"No thank you, I'm honoured to have helped." Replied Doc also getting up. Rico looked sadly at Doc with puppy eyes and Doc seemed to read his mind. "Don't worry my lad, I'll finish telling you the stories of my journey some other time. Maybe I'll even tell your brothers too."

At that Rico lit up, and opened his mouth to reply. Promptly closing it, he frowned.

"Rico, you don't have to worry how you sound. We're all here for you." Said Doc quietly. In responses, Rico only nodded.

"Doc, can we speak with you in private for a moment?" inquired Liam already stepping outside. Following the pair outside, Doc gazed around at his surroundings, almost certain of what they were going to ask.

"Is there anything we can do? Will he ever be the same?" Kate asked worriedly, starting to crack under the pressure. Liam hugged her tightly, knowing this was tough for her.

"I understand from what you have told me that Rico has always had problems with speaking, correct?"

"Yes, we always just passed it off. Saying he'll grow out off it." Said Kate crying.

"It is common for some penguins, when they learn to talk, to be unable to say certain letters. For instance, I've seen cases where "R" is replaced with the letter "L". So red becomes led. Yet, you have told me he speaks in broken sentences. Has he ever had any self-confidence problems that you know of?"

"No," answered Liam, gently rubbing the back of his sobbing wife. "He was always just a quiet kid, never talked much."

"Uh huh…. Kate, as your friend and as a doctor co-worker in Penguin Labs, you cannot crack down in front of him never ever ever. It will make him go insane, then he might become uncontrollable. That would be one of the greatest sorrows I have ever seen, because he has so much potential and is willing to learn. You can bring him here if you feel like breaking down and just crying, but never do it in front of him because he is so fragile at the moment."

"Thank you. Your offer will be accepted." Said Liam, nodding to the eccentric penguin. Kate, who had now stopped crying, sadly smiled at the snow on the ground. The doctor, seeing the pair wanted some privacy, waddled back into the igloo to start helping Rico get ready for the journey back home.

"I better head of to work now, science doesn't wait for anyone you know. I really need to apply for a break." She said quietly, still shaken by the whole ordeal. "The boys?"

"They're okay, Sarge is looking after them."

"That's good, Sarge always know what to do. Tell my parents I'm sorry I can't be there now. I love you. "Kate said squeezing her husband's flipper.

"I will. I love you too. Take care now." He called after her as she left without another word.

"Alright, come on Rico." Said Doc as he waddled out the igloo backwards, holding Rico's shaky flipper. After the awkward, but necessary good-byes, they were on their way.

Slowly and steadily they waddled back to the igloo. Because Rico tired easily, short breaks were needed for him to catch his breath. Deciding they would cover more ground fast if Rico was carried, Liam hoisted his son onto his strong, safe shoulders. After what seemed like forever, the exhausted pair made it home.

Surprised and confused to find partly demolished walls and forts everywhere, the pair raised their non-existent eyebrows as they eyed the rubble. Rounding a wall, they saw Skipper, Kowalski and Sarge and what seemed to be a battle plan.

"Hey Captain, your back!" announced Sarge with a laugh. "So like I said Kowalski you can't please everyone –you're not a jar of Nutella. So be a fruit loop in a world full of cheerios."

"Hello boys, having fun?" Said Liam, slightly confused at what Sarge just said. Rico wiggled to let Liam know he wanted to slide off of his back, which his father allowed.

"Yes Dad!" the boys chorused, grinning crazily. "Rico!"

The trio embraced it an awkward triangle hug. Laughing and grinning, they all fell down into the snow. As the boy's dad and Sarge went inside, the boys started to make small snow figures.

"So Rico, how you feeling?" asked Skipper momentarily glancing up from his small snow cannon.

"Eh, 'ood. 'oice ur's bit." He replied watching both Skipper and Kowalski with hawk-like expressions. Hoping and wondering they understood him.

"That's not too bad." Kowalski said, genuinely smiling for the first time in a long time. "You head doesn't hurt right?"

Rico's beak fell open; he thought nobody would understand him. He thought he'd become an outcast and be called a freak. Yet, here was his brother talking to him and understanding him like he was the clearest speaker in the world. "No." He grunted back, still surprised.

"Hey Walski, why do you want to be a scientist or commando so bad? Why not just become a builder or teacher or even an artist?" asked Skipper and he started to make snowballs for his cannon. Kowalski considered his question with a deep frown, he never though about it before; but he knew his answer right off the bat.

"Awwwh… you know Skip, it's just that commandos and scientists are like the best careers out there. Why pick a career or job that will get you a lot of hate mail and hurtful words? Besides, I-I admire Dad, Sarge and Mum do, you know helping people with science and protecting them and all that. I want to really be a commando scientist! The best of both worlds. Besides, you need more that two penguins to have a commando unit." Kowalski said grinning. "I want to stay with you guys. I can't handle being alone. You're the best brothers I could have ever asked for."

"Eh, 'ee al'ays ne'd a 'ood br-othe' to c-ou-nt on." Said Rico, taking his time to try to sound out the words.

"He's right Walski, we always need a good, smart brother to count on, especially when we're out here in the desert."

"We're in a desert?"

"Yep! There's almost no rainfall here. And because our location, it makes Antarctica the coldest desert in the world." Said Skipper smartly. "Like I say before, while Rico was away, we'll go to the ends of the planet for you Walski. Your our lanky brother, and we're penguins; we stick together. No questions about it."

"Thanks you guys. I really don't know what I'd do without you." Said Kowalski smiling genuinely. "Do wanna build a snowman?"

"Nah…how about an igloo?" Skipper asked, jumping up to add the last part of his cannon. "Grandma taught me today." Yet again, the trio was having heaps of fun and laughter, using their imaginations to the fullest; much to the delight of the adults inside.

 **And thank you again for reading this chapter. "Do you want to build a snowman?" is a song from the movie Frozen. (I do not own it. Just making it clear.)**

 **Dysarthria: Yes, it is a real motor speech disorder. It is pronounced Die-sarth-ria or Dye-sarth-ria. I have researched different types of motor speech disorders, (What Rico has) and decided to use my research of dysarthria in the story; since it is the closest to Rico's "symptoms". So if you want to go search it up on the internet, go ahead! It's really cool to read about it. Just so you know, there are more than one type of dysarthria, five actually and in some case they mix! Yeah don't judge, I'm a fan who likes facts ;)**

 **Anyway, Thank for reading, following, and favouring my story. Your thoughts are alway appreciated in a review. Good day/night friends!**


	4. Waddle gone wrong

**Hello! Nice to…yeah…. Oh! Nice of you to read a new chapter of mine! Glad to see your back for the 4th chapter of BRAINS! As always, I'm happy you're here to read about young, but awesome, penguin commandos in the making. Oh and by the way, I hope you've had a very merry Christmas!**

The next couple of weeks passed slowly and uneventfully, yet none of the penguins were complaining about the inactivity. Instead, they were enjoying the company of each other; everyone getting used to the fact Rico was injured and needed to rest as much as possible. Kate had applied for a break at the Labs and had gotten it in a matter of seconds when they heard about Rico.

"SARGE!" Rico, Skipper, and Kowalski yelled as the aforementioned penguin shuffled into view with a big grin on his face.

"Hello boys, what we up to?" questioned the sergeant as he waddled to the trio sitting in the snow building super small igloos for the 5th time today. Frankly, Sarge was quite bored.

"Not much Sarge, kinda boring. No action or adventures." Skipper replied dolefully.

"Well, we all can't hog the adventures and actions now can we?" Sarge said with a light-hearted chuckle, thinking of his own predicament. "Besides, we all need a rest once in a while."

"Isn't it Flighting Flipper Training Day again today, Sarge?" Kowalski asked staring at him inquisitively.

"Yep, but I'm on a month worth of holiday. You see the Flippers have a pattern only ten active commando penguins at a time. Believe it or not, there are more than just the ten of us scattered around the colony, roughly about thirty-five of us in total." He said as he plonked down in the snow and leaned back like he was on a deck chair for emphasis.

"Aw'ome!" Rico said throwing his flippers in the air. "Pla-y w-ith us? Pl-ea-sse?"

"Sure thing Rico! I'd love to play with you all. We could go on an awesome adventure!" Sarge replied enthusiastically.

"Eh, but aren't you going to be unfit at the end of your holiday?" Skipper asked with a grin; knowing how important fitness is to commandos.

"Well, you see, there is a group that takes care of that. The Flippers are the best of the best; but there are other commando groups too. All that happens is we get bumped down the ladder for a while, cause we all need a bit of a break from all that hard work. It's only temporary and we are only off duty, even though we can spring into action at any second. So at the moment I'm in a commando unit called the Reserves, they are other commandos that are not Flippers that are off duty too; pretty into working out. That's why I've got good muscles." Sarge explained while flexing his flippers to show them off.

"Oh…is it hard to stay fit?" Skipper interrogated, a bit jealous of the commando's muscles.

"Not really. It's harder to get fit that to stay fit." Sarge replied quietly laughing at Skipper's poorly hidden jealously. "If you want, I can train you guys during my break. It shouldn't be a problem since your parents removed you from your school. For…uh…yesterday's escapades and other reasons."

"How did you know about that?" Kowalski asked a bit embarrassed of his actions yesterday.

"Flippers know everything." Sarge said grinning. "You three gave us all a good laugh at the monthly meeting. General says you guys got talents, going up against the odds of five older penguins in hand-to-hand combat and still coming out on top. I'm really proud of you guys. Those boys needed a good lesson about not to bully and you sure gave it to them."

"Th'nks Sarge," Rico said, "N'ver bully gi-rls." The sergeant smiled, although Rico was a bit hard to understand he was understandable and quite clear in his speaking.

"That right! No girl will ever be bullied if we're around." Said Skipper leaping up and landing in a defensive stance.

"Well then, I'm glad my grandsons take after their dad." Said Grandma as she, Grandpa, Liam, Kate came waddling out of the igloo with large smiles.

"Yes, ma'am. The world needs more chivalrous gentlemen like the Captain." Said Sarge standing up and staring directly into her eyes with a mixture of respect and awe.

"Thank you Sarge. It means a lot." Liam said with a smile. "Oh, before I forget. Can I talk to you in private for a moment?" The pair waddled off to the side while the rest were chatting about how real gentlemen act.

"Sir?"

"In our recent meeting," Said Liam glancing back at his family. "We discussed about time limits, remember?"

"Yes Sir, I do." Sarge said an air of confidence.

"Good. The plan this afternoon is the whole family is going out for a waddle. If we're not back in…uh…three hours. Start worrying." The Captain said with a smirk, confident nothing was going to happen on his watch. "But don't send out an party until three and a half hours later."

"Yes, Sir. Enjoy your time out." Sarge said saluting smartly. After a couple of quick good-byes to the off duty commando, the penguins started on their leisurely waddle.

They all were thoroughly enjoying the cool wind rushing into their lungs as they chatted about random things that popped into their brains. After an half hour, boys wanted to do more that just waddling in the open.

"Can we go to the caves please, Dad? I really really want to explore the tunnels!" Skipper exclaimed, excited at the prospect of a slice of adventure.

"I see no trouble. Kate?" Liam replied ruffling the mow hawk on Rico's head.

"As long as we don't run into leopard seals." She jested with a smile. Kowalski and Rico grinned cheekily at Skipper who frowned back at them.

"Wow." Kowalski muttered under his breath. "This is just like Ice Caves." He said as gazed around the bluish walls. After exploring tunnel after tunnel, they came to a large chamber-like tunnel.

"Kowalski, Rico. Check this out." Skipper said as he stared at the ice hanging from the ceiling. The pair waddled over to their brother as the adults gazed around the other side of the tunnel. Everyone was being immersed in beauty of the breath-taking tunnels, always stepping in closer to check out anything that piqued his of her interest' which was mostly weirdly shaped ice.

"This place is beautiful." Said Grandpa with a sigh as Grandma gazed around at cracked floor, making it look like one oversized jigsaw puzzle. Catching sight of a hole in the wall close to the floor, Grandma quietly gasped as she saw a crack extending from the hole all the way across the ceiling. Dangerous, it could be quite deep but then again it could just be a scratch. Always better to be safe than sorry.

"Boys come here immediately!" she yelled, envisioning the roof collapsing on her grandsons. She knew she was the only one that could see the danger; after all, she was a builder. Just as the boys started to turn around, Grandma was sure she had seen the wall move in her peripheral vision. Motioning the to boys to come quickly, they all heard an audible cracking sound. The boys, instantly being frightened to their core, tried to hurry across to their parents and grandparents.

One moment the boys were staring anxiously into their parent's faces; the next, they were almost suffocating in a mountain of snow and ice. Partly overcoming the shock, Rico realised he was breathing normally again and he was just a bit behind Skipper and Kowalski who were deeper into the mini mountain than he was and had much more difficulties to breathe than him. Running purely on adrenaline and instincts, Rico managed to latch onto a flipper of each struggling penguin and with a super-penguin effort, he managed to propel them all out in reverse by kicking off a big ice block in the snow.

Unceremoniously landing on their backs, the boys panted heavily; trying to restore the lost oxygen. Hearing the muffled shouts of the adults, Kowalski was the first one to stand up and waddle to the one side of the solid wall where a deep crack had appeared. "This could end up being a good source of communication." Kowalski muttered as he tried to look through the crack.

"BOYS! Are you alright?" someone yelled from the other side of the barrier.

"Yes!" Kowalski yelled back through the crack. Another yell tried to make its way through the wall, but the boys couldn't understand it. "Can't hear you!" Kowalski yelled back hoping for another answer. By now, Skipper and Rico were both on their feet and standing off to the side of the barrier and more to the solid part where Kowalski was standing.

"We can't get through!" said the voice, by now they guessed the others had found the crack too.

"Boys listen to me." Immediately, the boys knew it was their commando dad talking. "We can't dig through the barrier. We will risk to many cave-ins. I'm sorry…. Remember, I'm proud of you boys. Today, you will have to band together to become a unit. You will have to get out of there by using your wits and skills. I have been training you all since you hatched and I know you can do it. Trust your instincts. Skipper you're the leader, take charge and look after your brothers. Kowalski, you're first lieutenant, your intelligent son. Believe in yourself. Rico, my boy, you're a sergeant; demolitions expert. Take care my boys."

"Stay safe." Kate yelled to her sons. "You can do it."

"You can do it boys. If there's a way, you'll find it." Grandpa shouted through the crack. The boys heard a soft scuffle through the crack.

"Finally, my turn! Take care team, remember what I taught you." Grandma yelled through the crack. "We're going to try and get out from our side. You need to try to get out from yours. We shouldn't be to far from the colony…. Your dad says you should try to get back to the colony and find Sarge." The boys gazed at each other as the sounds for their parents' and grandparents' footsteps died away.

"Well there's no use standing here." Skipper said in his best no-nonsense voice. "Kowalski, options!" Kowalski stared blankly at his brother.

"Umm…. we could…uh…look around to find a exit?"

"Yeah, okay we'll go with that. Oh Rico thanks for, you know, getting us out of there." Skipper said scratching his head with his flipper, very amused at his younger brother who was staring blankly at the roof. "Yo, Rico, don't space off would ya?"

"Heh?" Rico grunted as he returned to the present situation. "Sorry."

"No sweat. Let's check out this place." Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski all split up and started to look for any weak place in the wall. They all tapped here and there for 3 hours, until Kowalski decided it was enough.

"This is–" Kowalski said plopping down with a frown. "This is not working. We've been over these walls more that a thousand times, and nothing! We're trapped! We are trapped in a cave and there's no way out! Mum and Dad are probably at the colony by now."

"Yeah," agreed Rico taking a seat next to Kowalski. "Wh-at now Kipper?" Never missing a beat Skipper replied:

"We build an igloo to keep warm and we sleep on it. We can't think clearly on little sleep."

"Great. Lead the way oh great Skip, I'll follow." Kowalski said sarcastically, with a roll of his eyes.

"Mum, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa won't be at the colony anytime soon, either Kowalski. That way is blocked too. I went down there first when we came in, and there was another barricade." said Skipper with a glare at the cave-in that separated them from their parents and the tunnel they came in by. "Okay let's start. Kowalski, Rico first we make rectangles in the snow. Remember, our snow blocks are there deep in the snow. You can't see them now, but they are there; all we have to do is find them."

After 2 hours the boys were tired but happy. "This finding-the-blocks-in-the-snow was harder than I expected." Said Kowalski as he crawled into the crude igloo. Rico grunted in agreement and he followed in the same manner.

"Better than my last time, Grandma." Skipper muttered under his breath as he gazed proudly at his temporary shelter. With a quick glance to hopefully spot an over-looked weak area, Skipper wondered what his parents and grandparents were doing. Diving into the igloo, Skipper grinned sheepishly at his brothers. "We'll be alright."

"Yeah. I mm gon'a s-sleee-p." Rico said as he tiredly rubbed his eyes and tried to find a comfy spot in the snow.

"Right. Night Rico." Kowalski said patting the already-sleeping penguin's flipper. "Skip? I'm scared."

"Yeah," Skipper said solemnly, "Me too… I'm hungry too."

Kowalski quietly laughed, careful not to wake Rico. "Funny that we didn't feel hungry while we worked. It was probably the whopping amount of adrenaline going crazy in our systems with the circumstance we're in. Hmm…if I can remember correctly, we're practically operating in a heightened sense. And maybe because we're not thinking on food."

"Speak for yourself Professor Loony Tunes." Skipper mumbled at he massaged his growling stomach. "I'm gonna sleep too. Good night."

"Night Skip." Kowalski said as he snuggled into the snow. Slowly closing his blue eyes, Kowalski waited patiently for a long time to drift to sleep. Just before he completely fell asleep, he had the sudden feeling he was falling and his body jerked him back to reality with a heartbeat that rang in his ears. "So much for sleep." He muttered as he quietly stood up and he shuffled to the entrance of the igloo.

"KO-WALSKI!?" Skipper yelled, making Kowalski almost jump out of his feathers. Spinning around Kowalski stared wide-eyed at Skipper, expecting his brother to demand where he was going. Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, Kowalski supressed a laugh as he gazed back at his brother who had just yelled in his sleep. Deciding to watch him a while longer, Kowalski quietly sat down. "Ice in igloos, man! If the squirrel gets the walnut it's all over. Over! You hear?!"

Kowalski let out an amused snort as he continued watching his older brother. " Where's the Colonel?" Kowalski grinned as he chose to humour him.

"What Colonel?"

"Colonel Pancake. I've found his blueberry." Skipper replied, speaking clearly with a large smile and eyes still closed. Kowalski held his stomach because it started to ache from laughter thanks Skipper's nonsense talk.

"Skipper. Skipper. Haha… Wake up, you are making me laugh to much." Kowalski tried to say as he was almost choking on his laughter. There were countless occasions that Kowalski would sit and listen to his brother speak clearly about the most random things and still be asleep; somehow, Kowalski had no doubt that this time it would be precisely the same as before. Kowalski gently shook Skipper's shoulder in an effort to get him to wake up. Getting no reaction, Kowalski stood up and continued on his way outside the igloo.

"We need to get out of here." Kowalski whispered to himself. "When the others wake up, we'll all be hungry. I just wish dad were here! He'd know what to do!" the penguin chick said exasperatedly. Snatching up some snow, he started to make a very solid and hard packed snowball. With a frustrated growl, Kowalski pitched the snowball with all his might against the wall opposite the barrier blocking their way. Watching the snowball shatter on impact, he frowned as he rubbed his tired, sapphire blue eyes. Crawling back to the igloo, Kowalski slouched back into his part of the snow.

"I don't care if the igloo falls on top of me now, I'm just gonna sleep. Too tired to care about anything else." Muttered Kowalski as he finally drifted of to sleep.

Meanwhile back at the outskirts colony, Sarge was at the brink of blowing his top; no rest was in sight for him. The others were gone for more than 5 hours and not a word was heard from their whereabouts. Yes, he was worried; sure Captain was great and all, but Sarge knew something was wrong, dead wrong.

"Great." Growled Sarge as he angrily kicked a pile of snow. He had just told his other reserve commandos, that Captain and his family were missing and their helpful response was 'Not our problem'. _'This isn't good. Cap and the others are in trouble; I just know it! Why do I have to be off-duty?!'_ Sarge mentally yelled.

"Ughhh…why do we have the stupid rule no off-duty Flipper can meet any other on-duty Flipper unless a on-duty higher up approaches the off-duty Flipper! You keep contradicting yourself! First off-duty officers and on-duty officer are not allowed to talk, the next sentence they are!" Sarge voiced his frustrations to no one in particular.

"You know–" Sarge spun around. "I've never seen you angry before." Said the newcomer with an amused look evident in hisunnatural green eyes. Sarge stared warily at the penguin who had his flippers clasped behind his back. "Oh come on Sarge!" yelled the penguin, unclasping his flippers waving them about in front of the commando's face.

"Hey Wally. You seem strangely, uh, normal." Sarge replied checking out the lanky penguin with a causal grin.

"Ahh that's where your wrong my friend!" Wally said with a crazy grin. "I am normal, my crazy side is just an act; but tell me why the angry face?" Sarge laughed at the adult penguin who reminded him so much of a chick. Sarge told Wally the whole story why he was so frustrated and worried; yet, much to the sergeant's dismay, Wally laughed out loud.

"What's so funny, Wally?" The confused penguin said, stating his thoughts.

"My oh my, Sarge. Have you seen 'em boys in action before? They can take care of themselves mighty fine. But if you're so desperate to find them, let's go talk to my dad. He'll be able to help." Wally said with a proud smile as he grabbed the sergeant's flipper and started to drag him to some unknown location.

"Your dad? He lives in this colony?" Sarge said with even more confusion clouding his face.

"Haha…you're a sport, Sarge. You know my father well." Wally said to the penguin, making Sarge even more confused.

"Yeah. Not well enough to know he has a son." Muttered Sarge.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Sarge said with a chuckle as he was still being dragged along. "Nothing at all."

"Oh, good cause we're here." Wally said with a smile that seemed to light up his whole face. Waddling into a large unfamiliar igloo, Sarge felt his stomach tighten. "Hey dad. DAD!" Wally yelled while spinning around in a circle. "I bought a friend!"

"Wally. Hey son, who's your–" An all to familiar penguin waddled out to meet them. "Friend." The sergeant's eyes widened as he recognized the penguin in front of him. _'Not good. Not good. Not good.'_ Sarge mentally yelled at himself as he straightened up and preformed a sloppy salute.

"Sorry sir." Sarge said awkwardly as he still at attention.

"Sarge, is it so shocking to see me that you forget you don't salute indoors?" the penguin asked with a carefree laugh. Sarge sheepishly rubbed his head with a flipper as he returned an apologetic smile.

"Um…it is quite shocking General." Sarge said respectfully to his leader; while he still tried to wrap his head around that Wally was the General's son. Crazy guy's dad was the smartest guy in the colony, how ironic.

"Let me guess, your thinking how it's possible that Wally is my son. Right?" General interrogated with a grin. Sarge nodded while looking at Wally who was presently spinning around on his head. "Well, he takes more after his mother. It's a long story. But why are you here?" Sarge turned giving his CO his full attention.

"Captain and his family are missing. The Captain gave me orders that he would only be away 3 hours and only a half an hour after that time I should organize a search party."

"Yet it is 2 hours after the given time." General said immediately catching on to the agreement between the two Flippers. "Wally stay here. Sarge follow me."

"Reserves leaders wouldn't let me go, they said I was out of shape and when I told them about the Cap they said it wasn't their problem."

"Reserves." The General growled. "They never like us, especially when Cap blew the whistle on their slack training regime. Bunch of lazy, good-for-nothings." Waddling out of the igloo, Sarge and General started to slide. General took the lead and sild to the Fighting Flipper meeting cave. Leaping to their feet, Sarge asked the General:

"Sir? I can't go in there, I'm off duty, that is going against the rules."

"Son, if Cap, my second-in-command, talked to you about the time limit, he trusted you. If he trusts you, I do too. Therefore, we skip all the formalities and make you an honorary leader; we'll get that etched in ice when we get Cap and his family back." General replied causally as he stepped into the cave, immediately gaining all the attention of the Flippers inside.

"Come on, Sarge. We don't have all day." The General yelled back to Sarge who was still coming to terms with the honorary leader thing. Slipping inside, Sarge saw General giving him an encouraging nod. Taking a deep breath, Sarge said:

"Gentlemen, our good Captain and his family are missing for more than 5 hours. Time to go find them."

 **AND CUT! Okay we're good. That was one big chapter to write out. On that subject, between how many words do you like in a chapter? I personally prefer between 3000-5500, but that's just me. What did you think? I hope you have a awesome New Year friends! :)**


	5. Skylight

**Hey! Welcome back! 2016 already! Wow… Anyway! Go read!**

Kowalski groaned as he was prodded yet again by a flipper. Turning around on his pile of now hard packed snow, he growled like a puppy that tried to sound threatening.

"Walski gr-ow-led?" Rico's enquiring voice rang through Kowalski's ears.

"Yup. Come on Walski! Stop being lazy." Skipper said a he poked him again. "Whatever, let's get back to wall work Rico. Kowalski can catch up later. I' really hungry now." Skipper said with a frustrated sigh as he waddled out. Sometimes, Kowalski was too stubborn….just like now.

Kowalski tried to close his eyes and sleep some more, but a guilty feeling crept into his mind. Wincing in pain as he sat up, Kowalski glanced down at his legs to see multiple bruises. Kowalski quietly whimpered as he rubbed his bruised leg tenderly.

"How could I have missed that?" Kowalski interrogated himself. Standing up, Kowalski gave shallow cough as he tried to work out all the stiffness in his body.

Outside of the igloo, Skipper and Rico were tapping on the walls; still determined to find a way out.

"Yo, Rico." Skipper called as he stared at the part of the wall that was in front of him. The remains of Kowalski's snowball was scattered on the floor and a small, but visible hole was in the wall allowing some light to filter into the cave. "Kowalski, get your tail feathers out here!" Skipper shouted as Rico joined him at the wall.

"What's wrong Skipper?" Kowalski asked as he waddled to his brothers. "Oh, that. Yeah, I might have lost my temper…" He said as Skipper pointed to the hole.

"Go-od job, Walski!" Rico exclaimed excitedly as he punched Kowalski's shoulder, causing the latter to wince.

"Yeah..." Skipper spoke as he tried looking through the wall. "Well, I see the light. It's gonna be tough getting through the wall, so Walski; time to open up the suggestions department again. Any ideas?"

"Uh…sure, why don't we let the demolition expert do his work?" Kowalski said smartly with a grin; this options guy thing was getting easier for him. Rico let out a battle cry, picked up a small rock as his weapon of choice, and started to hammer around the small hole; send fragments of crushed ice everywhere.

"That works." Skipper replied with a smile as he picked up two rocks. Tossing one to Kowalski, they all set to work.

Meanwhile on the other side of the cave in, the adults were in a tight spot too. Lacking on sleep didn't make them feel better either. Instead of setting up camp, like the boys had done, they had exhausted their options of tunnels leading to and from their side of the small chamber and presently, they were lost.

"What do you mean where lost?!" the female scientist yelled angrily at her husband who had just broken the news he couldn't remember what tunnel they needed to go into next.

"Kate calm down! We're lost. Please just hang on and let me try to get my bearings." The commando replied as calmly as he could manage, which in hindsight was not really calm…at all. Commando or not, leaving his three sons behind in a cave in was no small thing.

"That's enough both of you!" Grandpa said firmly. "My days a drill sergeant might not have been yesterday, but I certainly can remember some drills that I can put you through if you don't start acting like full grown adults again."

"He's right. We have to band together to win this war." Grandma said with a amused smile. "It's no use getting even more lost in the tunnels. Let's try a different tactic." She continued with a familiar sparkle in her eyes.

"First things first. We need to sleep before we continue." Liam said with an apologetic look on his face, angled toward Kate. "I'm sorry. I just really hope the boys are okay. They've never been alone for so long."

"They will know what to do. Remember, they take after their parents; who might I mention are quite happy being push out of their comfort zone. Besides, I'm sure they will find a way out. That wall on the other side didn't look too thick. They might be able to get through there." Grandma assured them. After a couple of minutes, they all were curled up into a huddle and deep asleep.

After a couple of hours, they were fully rested and itching to get out. To think of ways to solve their problems, they all did what made them relax. Kate was pacing the floor muttering about quadratic equations and genetics; Liam was busy shadow boxing and the grandparents were content talking between themselves.

In the middle of a punch, the Captain stared up at the roof. "What in the world? Through the roof; that is how he got out."

"Huh?"

"A well known escape artist once got out of a maximum security prison, there was no weaknesses; or so they thought. Now, I think he got out through the roof. Maybe we can get out that way too. I remember we all referred to it as the Skylight Climber."

"I guess it doesn't hurt to try. After all, the roof must be lightweight, yet, tough and durable." Grandma mused as she remembered her trial and errors in building roofs.

"Okay? But that still doesn't get us out of here. Might I point out, the roof is kinda, I don't know, high up like a roof is supposed to be!" Kate said sarcastically.

"Kate!" Grandpa said with a huff. "You haven't changed from when you were a chick. Stubborn, hot headed, a fiery temper neatly tied up with intelligence."

"And that is the reason I fell in love with her." Liam said with a wink as he pointed causally to solid packed icy chunks that jutted out from the wall that went all the way to the roof. "That is our way out. We'll climb the wall and open up that small crack right there. Then we get back to the colony."

"I'll go up first." Grandma said she waddled to the ice-climbing wall, as the Captain stepped forward to volunteer. "On second thoughts, it looks a lot more difficult to climb up close. Liam will you go up first?"

"Of course, ma'am." Liam said as he started to clamber up the wall. Finding a very narrow ledge to stand on, he turned around to look back down at the rest as he carefully pressed himself against the wall. "It's rather difficult to climb. You might want to slowly and safely start to get up here while I enlarge the crack in the roof a bit."

Turning around again, Liam grasped a block of ice as he pulled himself closer to the top. "Great. There's no place to stand. Guess I'll have to work with one flipper." He muttered as he stuck his flipper into a small gap between the ice chunks. Curling the end of his flipper into a tight fist he carefully leaned backwards, testing the strength of the ice. Finding it would hold, he turned back to see where the others were standing, still hanging on in a position a free climber would be known to use.

"Are you alright dear?" Kate called up worriedly to her husband as she helped her mother stand on the small ledge Liam had found.

"Dandy darling." He said, waving his free flipper at them in a pleased gesture. Setting to work, he started to claw at snow around the small hole, sending a rain of snow down on the others.

Opening the hole large enough, he climbed up as far a he could. Carefully stretching out of the hole and into the open, he vainly tried to grasp the snow to pull himself up and out. Liam took a shaky, but deep breath as his feet started to slip on the ice. Thankfully, his quick thinking saved him any injuries; using his presently free flipper he drove it as deep as he could into the snowy ground above the wall where he was standing.

Pulling himself out with one flipper, the commando turned around to motion for the others to come up.

"You go first, mum." Kate voiced as she tapped the ice delicately with a flipper. Grandma nodded as she started to the top. Soon after that Grandpa was up too leaving only Kate on the ledge. "You think they'll be alright, dear?" Kate asked as she saw her husband's face poking into the hole.

"Darling, if they're only half as smart as you. They will make it. Skipper can get a bit arrogant, but Rico will make sure it won't go too far."

"Yes, I'm not worried about them, they're use to winging it. But I am worried about Kowalski. You know he's –ooppmmhh " Kate said as her grip slipped, causing her to smack stomach-first into a ice block jutting out from the wall. "–Not the most, you know, use to these type of adventures."

"Careful." Liam said as he grasped his wife's flippers and pulled her up. "He'll be fine Kate. He's got strong brothers to help him. I'm more worried about Rico. With his head and all." Kate nodded as she panted; this workout wasn't in a scientist's job description.

"But why does this place seem familiar?" Liam questioned, as he racked his brain trying to remember why the beautiful landscape seemed so dark and daunting. Glancing to his left, he saw his pretty wife rub her head in an effort to loosen the memories.

"Well I have never been here." Grandma said in wonder as she gazed around at the large ridges popping out from seemingly nowhere. "I'd remember if I was here in a amazing place like this."

"Yes, I'm sure I was not here before. Too cold." Grandpa said in an effort to lighten the mood.

"Dad, we're in Antarctica. It's cold, there's snow, there's ice. The weather here has to be zero degrees Celsius or thirty-two Fahrenheit." The female scientist said, deciding it was time for a little science lesson.

"Snow…" Liam said it like it was a foreign word. "Snow…Snow."

"Yes?" Grandpa asked.

"I know where we are." Liam said as he smacked his forehead.

"You do?" Grandma spoke up as she glanced around the ridges again.

"Yes. Welcome to Snow Ridge. Population: Fifteen thousand plus Leopard Seals. We at Penguin Travel, sincerely hope you enjoy your speedy departure from one of the most dangerous places on Antarctica."

"Well, this sucks." Kate replied in her full British accent, taking in the snowy features.

 **Yup, that last sentence was a Private reference in Madagascar. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry that it was a bit short. Please leave a review to tell me your highly appreciated thoughts! See you next time on BRAINS :)**


	6. Back at Snow Ridge!

**Hey sorry for the wait, here's the next chapter! Thanks for all my reviews, follows and favourites, they really make my day! Recently, I had to use another computer; the problem is some of the keys sit in different places causing me to misspell a lot of words…much to the displeasure of my perfectionist side! Anyway, go read the chapter; I won't continue to bore you with my problems XD.**

 _ **Short recap:**_

" _Yes. Welcome to Snow Ridge. Population: Fifteen thousand plus Leopard Seals. We at Penguin Travel, sincerely hope you enjoy your speedy departure from one of the most dangerous places on Antarctica."_

" _Well, this sucks." Kate replied in her full British accent, taking in the snowy features._

 _ **Present:**_

"We're in LEPOARD SEAL TERRATORY?!" Grandma yelled as she stared in shock at the Liam and Kate. Grandpa gaped at the landscape that now seemed much more dangerous.

"Yes, we are. And the faster we come to terms with that we're on the edge, the faster we can get out of here." Liam said calmly gazing back at the grandparents. Kate shuffled closer to her husband as her thoughts wondered to her boys.

' _I wonder if they are alright.'_ Kate thought as she sniffled almost silently. _'Keep it together Kate! They need you! But first you have to get back to the colony. Better start moving.'_ Her inner voice encouraged.

"We'd better slid to the colony then." Liam spoke determinedly, drawing Kate from her thoughts.

"He's right. If we start sliding–" Kate said, her eyes alight with a familiar determination. "East, the way we came; we will make the colony in three and a half hours at full speed."

"Right. No use loosing…loosing time." Grandpa said staring inquisitively at a large shadow that seemed to be growing by the second on the snow. Carefully turning around, Grandpa gasped at the gigantic leopard seal that had crept up behind them.

"Hello lunch." A massive leopard seal hissed as he tried nipping Grandpa's tail feathers. "Stand still you jumping piece of meat!" The large carnivore growled as he tried to bite Grandpa who was leaping from side to side.

"Slide!" Liam yelled as he leaped into the air, stabbing the leopard seal in the eye with a precision only known to the ring of commandos. Taking heed, the other three penguins started to slide away; knowing deep down the Fighting Flipper would be fine.

Seemingly from nowhere, a large bunch of other seals started to make a large ring around the four penguins. Liam, who had now made it safely to the others, started to whispered encouragingly to the others. The seals started to move in closer for the kill and the stench of rotten flesh became almost unbearable as the predators moved closer. Gulping loudly, Kate looked to her husband for comfort.

Liam glanced back over his shoulder to see how far the other seals were back behind them. Surprised to see a baby seal waving shyly, he narrowed his eyes as a plan started to form in his mind.

"So this is how we end." Grandma said with a doleful expression on her face. The next minute, they were violently dragged back and then it was dark.

"Good job darling! What a fine first catch. I knew you'd find your taste buds for penguin." A muffled male voice said happily. Suddenly a massive earthquake–like vibration started to come from every direction in the dark place.

"Is this what it feels like to be dead?" Grandma muttered to herself as she bounced around thanks to the vibrations. Just when Liam was about to answer, light engulfed them as they slid down what seemed to be a chute. Blindly stumbling around in the light, the four penguins collapsed on a pile.

"Hi." A female voice said happily. When Kate, Grandpa, and Grandma saw who spoke their beaks hit the floor.

"Um…meet one of the first leopard seal allies, they strictly eat everything except out kind." Liam introduced the only seal in the area.

"Nice to meet you all, sadly my name is classified due to the work I do. But you can call me Bree." The leopard seal said with a small wave. "Captain, why are you here at Snow Ridge?"

"Long story Bree. But I've got three sons that are trapped in a cave. They need to be found fast. Care to spread the word?" Liam asked rubbing his face tiredly.

"Naturally. I'll spread the word. Oh and by the way, the fastest way back to your colony would be over that." Bree replied as she pointed to a mountain. "Just follow the seals' trail, it hard packed and it's easy to get to the top. Good luck!"

"Bye, Bree. Thanks for the tip!" Liam called after the seal. "Better get going!"

Still shocked from quick introduction, the other penguins just nodded as they started to follow Liam off into the distance.

Meanwhile, the boys had been tirelessly chipping upon the ice wall where Kowalski's snowball had hit. They had stopped a couple of times to rest, but the hunger pains sure made it hard to work.

Currently, Skipper was tiredly sitting with his head in his flippers against the bluish wall, while Kowalski and Rico were inspecting the small hole. Skipper started to nod off, until Kowalski started to tap on the wall on an annoyingly quick pace.

Groaning, Skipper dragged himself to his feet and went into the igloo to get some shuteye. Soon after he had just fallen asleep, he heard the sound of rock hitting ice on a steady pace. Skipper's eye started to twitch as he stared at the ceiling, can't anyone get sleep! Deciding sleep was going to need to wait, he got up and stretched. After he stretched, he suddenly became very aware of his bruises.

"Skkkiiippppeeerr!" Rico yelled as his large rock went completely through the wall, dropping on the ground on the other side. Skipper sighed as he waddled to his two brothers.

"Way to go Rico!" Kowalski exclaimed as he started to shave the ice in the large hole Rico just opened.

"Good job solider." Skipper said with a proud, but tired smile. "We're almost large enough to get out."

"Uh huh… Good time too. I'm starving!" Kowalski said as he smoothed out the sharp edge with his rock.

"Kowalski!" The other two whined with a frown. Skipper waddled to the hole and poked his head and shoulders through.

"You just needed to remind us of that didn't you?" Skipper asked as he started to try to fit through the hole. Partly stuck, Skipper started to struggle as if that would help him to wiggle though the hole. "Boys, give me a shove. I knew shouldn't have had that last fish pancake!" He said with a groan as he collapsed on the other side.

"You ate it! Mum said it was mine. I was looking forward to eat it!" Kowalski complained as he easily slid through the wall thanks to his lanky build.

"Dad said mi-ne." Rico said as he slipped through the wall, standing with his flippers on his hips. A fight was coming on; bruised, hungry and tired were never a good combination for the boys. Kowalski really didn't want to fight, he needed to change the subject very fast.

"Guys. Where are we?" Kowalski said taking in their environment. Massive hills circled them, ice was frozen in different positions, and a steady cool breeze was blowing making Rico's mohawk dance on top his head.

"Walski, I have no idea, but stay calm." Skipper replied as his eyes scanned the mountains from left to right. "Okay, okay, huddle and let's think of a plan." With the mission of avoiding a fight accomplished, Kowalski gave himself a mental high-five. Yet, that was not the end of his problems. Kowalski felt fear of the unknown race through his body as he desperately tried to focus.

Kowalski stared at Skipper. _' Stay calm? Yeah right. Panic is good about now.'_ Flopping down on the snow, Kowalski sighed as he watched Skipper and Rico waddle off a short distance to look for an exit that did not need going over the mountains.

"Why can't I be smart like Skipper, or strong like Rico?" Kowalski asked himself for no obvious reason. _'Why is it so difficult to fit in? Where is Sarge and his comforting words when you need him? Ughh…. Hungry, bruised and tired, never a good combo. I hope they find an exit and food. Always food. Definitely need food. But sadly food never solves socially awkward problems._ "I just wish I knew what to do to learn more easily…Maybe I should go see that doctor that treated Rico. Maybe he can help me. Just maybe." Kowalski murmured hopefully to himself.

"KOWALSKI!" a voice yelled far in the distance. Kowalski leapt to his feet and started to waddle to the voice. _'I hope there's food.'_

 **Okay! End of Chapter! If you liked this chapter please review….or not I mean it's not like I'm forcing you too; but it would really mean a lot to me if you did. Any who, who is your favorite character so far? Mine is well...I'll leave that to you to decide XP**


	7. Far away from home

**Heyo! Welcome back! Here's a New Chapter for you! Sorry for the very very overdue update; but I have just been flat out busy!**

Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico were lost; but apparently Skipper had found an exit that was familiar to him. Even though Skipper would never admit it, Kowalski knew deep down they were lost and going nowhere fast; but the lack of food made everyone's brains fuzzy and every conversation would end up in an argument. It didn't help that patience had deserted them.

"Leavin' all my troubles behind. Driving down the fast lane at a hundred an a hour, cause we're leavin' all our trouble behind, Leavin'–"

"Skipper!" Kowalski and Rico groaned as they glared at their older brother who was singing.

"Sorry, it's the only line I know." He replied, spinning around to face them.

"Yeah NO kidding! We've just been listening to you sing that line for over an hour on repeat!" Kowalski screeched, his patience clearly running thin.

"Yeah, Kipper wh-en eat?" Rico asked as he hesitantly stared down the other steep slope they had just climbed. Bad flashbacks of his last slide made fear grip his mind and at the moment, terror was reigning in every cell of his body. Rico knew he was not going to be able to slide down.

"Well down there seems to be a good place to find some food." Skipper directed, as he pointed to a large body water about ten miles away. "So we're going down. It looks okay to slide. I'll go first just to make sure it's ok." Skipper dropped to his stomach and started to slide to the bottom. In a couple of seconds he was at he bottom grinning like he had just conquered the world.

"Well Rico I guess it's my turn." Kowalski said hesitantly. Walking to the edge, Kowalski turned back to give Rico a small smile.

"Wait! No Walski!" Rico yelled as he clutched his lanky brother's flipper. "Scared." Kowalski immediately understood.

"Hey Rico it's okay. It won't happen again. I'm here. We'll go down together." Kowalski encouraged. Rico shook his head. His legs were starting to shake as he still held onto Kowalski's flipper like it was a lifeline. "Come on, Rico. We're brothers, we can do it together."

"No. Scared." Rico said sitting down. Kowalski shook his head as he bent down to his level.

"Rico. Face your fears. Don't run from them. Cause the moment you run from them, they'll come back another time. They will come back again, again, and again. But there is no such feel that compare to the feeling when you've conquer your fears. That's why we got taken from school. At first, I was afraid to stand up to those bullies, but when I saw how much they were hurting others; I knew I had to do something. That's why I stood up and got mad at them. I wasn't expecting a fight, but I knew you and Skipper would be there to help me. You see, we all have strong point and weak points and we're lucky our strong points are each other's weak ones. We connect. And that is what makes us a strong team. You with me?"

"Uh huh." Rico nodded. It wasn't going to be easy, but he was going to do it…. with his brother at his side; that made him feel a bit better.

"Way to go Rico and Walski that was on smooth slide." Skipper exclaimed as he grinned proudly on his team. "Now, straight that away should be thousands of fish just hopping with excitement to get into our mouths."

"Skipper! Do not mention food again until we have it!" Kowalski announced as he playfully swatted at his brother. "Cause I'm starving!"

"Let's go!" Rico yelled as he started to navigate to the rugged terrain, leaving the other two standing still.

"What happened up there?" Skipper asked as he waddled alongside Kowalski, watching Rico slide from side to side to avoid obstacles.

"Just some bonding. You know, brother to brother talk." Kowalski answered truthfully. Skipper remained silent, waiting for more clarification. Kowalski understood Skipper would wait until he got the whole answer. "He was afraid. Rico got scared of going down; last time really hurt him. He didn't want to go through it again." Kowalski continued. Skipper nodded slowly while being deep in thought.

Dropping to their stomachs, they raced to catch up to Rico. Arriving at the large body of water, they found out it was actually a part of the ocean; which was a problem because the colony was more inland.

"YEAH!" Rico yelled as he saw fish with all sorts of shapes and sizes swimming around beneath the icy-cold, transparent liquid. "Whoo hoo FISH!"

"Mmmm….food about time too." Skipper said with a dry laugh. "Gentlemen? Shall we?" Diving into the water, Skipper popped up on the surface with a fish in his mouth. Swallowing it down, Skipper dived back down to get some more. Rico threw caution to the wind as he carelessly dived down into the water beside his brother.

Carefully sliding in, Kowalski felt the icy cold water creep up his body. Involuntary shivering, he took a deep breath as he dived into the cool but refreshing water. Glancing around in the water, he torpedoed forward to trap a fish in his mouth. Nabbing the fish, he swam back to the shoreline to enjoy his prize.

"Good going Walski!" Skipper praised at Kowalski hopped out of the water with the fish still in his beak. Swallowing it down, Kowalski grinned sheepishly at the two who were sitting in a mountain of fish. "Want one?"

"Yes please Skip." Kowalski replied as he ducked not to get hit in the face with a fish. "Thanks." Kowalski said sarcastically as he waddled to pick the fish up.

"No worries." Skipper said as munched on a fish, oblivious to Kowalski's sarcasm. They started to tuck into the large and delicious meal. After awhile, they were lying on their backs and staring up into the sky; everyone felt like they could eat more, but their better judgement told them to wait a little while before they started to eat again.

"Hey Walski, Why yo-u skip s'chool some t-imes?" Rico asked as he rolled over on his stomach waiting for his answer. Kowalski remained silent; he promised the twins not to tell anyone his secret. If anyone knew that he was friends with predators, he could be kicked out of the colony. That was a chance he was not willing to take.

"Wal-ski." Skipper cautioned. "Rico asked you a question. Answer it immediately."

"I can't tell you. I promised. I shouldn't break my promises." Kowalski replied defiantly. Skipper was on the verge of ordering him and Kowalski knew it; and because Skipper was the leader, he would need to obey him. Luckily for the lanky penguin, the situation was going to explain itself.

"Kowalski?" A new soft voice called filled with confusion. All three penguins leaped to their feet, Skipper and Rico landing in a defensive stance.

"Ally?" Kowalski muttered as two baby polar bears stood up and shaking coats clear of the white snow. "Alvin." Skipper and Rico's beaks fell open as they watched the newcomers enveloped Kowalski in a friendly hug, not only because they were predators, but also because Kowalski was well, socially awkward.

"Kowalski, dude I've missed you so much!" Alvin said as he matched the penguins pace as he walked to his brothers.

"Yeah? Me too. Oh hey meet my brothers, Skipper and Rico." Kowalski said casually as he pointed his brothers. Kowalski's insides were twisting and he felt himself gaining tunnel-vision; there were two ways this introduction could go, Skipper and Rico could either explode at him or they could accept that he could make friends. Frankly, he was betting on the first theory.

"I don't trust you." Skipper yelled, as emotion Captain Raging Paranoia took complete control. "You might be Kowalski's friends, but I'm sure the Flying Fish Popsicle Sticks sent you to suck out our brains and become mindless puppets. Well I found you, so take that you disguised Popsicle! You won't ever suck my brain out, because I'm keeping my eye on you, you hear!" He pointed to his left eye that was twitching. Yep, he was right.

"Last time it was Seal Meals coming to make us go crazy." Kowalski mumbled as hi first assumption was proven correct. "You really should get a hobby instead of just making things up."

"Blast! They really did make you go crazy! I should have seen their dirty tactics!"

"O-kay? Anyway, Kowalski how have you been?" Ally asked in her soft voice, still throwing wary glances at Skipper. Obviously, the bears didn't mind being friends with him; why couldn't Skipper accept it?

Kowalski grinned as he shoved his thought to the side. "You really have no idea… but before I begin you must be hungry." Kowalski said with a smile as he dived into the water to catch some more fish. Things were really starting to look up for the gang; one problematic situation down, now into the next!

 **Whoo hoo! Another one done. Hey please let me know of your thoughts in a comment below! I really get a smile on my face when I see your lovely reviews! :)**

OKAY SO JUST ANOTHER SMALL NOTE: BRAINS will be on hold until I sort it out which might take a long time…. I don't even know if people are reading this. So, do you want it continued or not? I seriously have lost the drive for this particular story and well I'm not all too happy at the progress is going. I just wanna know from you guy and gals if I should rewrite the entire story or just put it on hold indefinitely.


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